Daniel Osbourne

Daniel Albert Osbourne is the son of Ken Barlow and Denise Osbourne, and husband to Sinead Tinker. Daniel was Ken and Denise's only surviving twin, the other twin having died in the fifth month of pregnancy.

In 1996, Daniel was first abandoned by his mother - who ran away with her lover Brian Dunkley, leaving Ken to raise him alone. However, some months later the pair returned and gained custody of Daniel - taking him to live with them in Scotland. Despite having lost contact with him over time, Ken visited Daniel - who was back living in Manchester with Denise following her split from Brian - for a couple of weeks in 2007. Although, Daniel was unable to form a bond with his father and Ken once again departed - although the pair occasionally kept in contact over the next few years.

In 2010, Denise abandoned a 15-year-old Daniel - who was forced to lie to friends and teachers that she was still around to avoid being taken into care. In November 2016, Daniel turned up at Ken's bedside following his stroke and remained in Weatherfield thereafter. In the following months, Daniel ventured into an affair with Sinead and pushed his father down the stairs (after discovering that he had pressured Sinead into aborting his child). By October 2018, Daniel had married Sinead - who was pregnant with his child and had been diagnosed with cancer.

1995-2016: Early life
Ken Barlow started a relationship with Denise Osbourne in 1994 when he had temporarily split from his wife Deirdre. Soon afterwards, Denise became pregnant but miscarried in the fifth month. It was then discovered that she had actually been carrying twins and the other twin had survived. Ken proposed to Denise, as he didn't want to be a father to an illegitimate child, but Denise turned him down and later broke up with him.

Daniel was born in January 1995 and Denise left Ken's name off the birth certificate, leaving him without parental rights. Denise ran away with Daniel later that year, but when Ken tracked them down, the parents agreed to give their relationship another go. In January 1996, Ken discovered that Denise had been having an affair with her brother-in-law Brian Dunkley and subsequently kicked her out, refusing to let her see Daniel. Denise left with Brian, abandoning Daniel and leaving him in the care of Ken. That November, Denise returned for Daniel, with Ken forced to hand him over as he had no legal rights to his son. Denise, Brian and Daniel moved to Scotland in January 1997. Although Daniel visited Ken the following July, Ken was distraught to realise that Daniel didn't recognise him as his father. Ken quickly lost touch with Daniel.

Sometime later, Denise broke up with Brian and moved back to the Manchester area with Daniel.

In 2007, Denise contacted Ken to offer her sympathy after reading about his daughter Tracy's murder conviction. He learned that Daniel and his mother lived nearby. While his marriage to Deirdre went through a rocky patch, Ken went to visit Denise and Daniel in May, hoping to build a relationship with his estranged son. Daniel and Ken struggled to get to know each other, especially when Deirdre and Ken's mother-in-law Blanche interfered. Ken stayed with Denise for a short while but Daniel began to resent his father's presence, even telling a friend that Ken was actually his grandfather.

Ken remained in contact with Daniel over the next few years but was not especially willing to be open about him to friends and family. When he met his long-lost first son Lawrence Cunningham, Ken neglected to tell him about Daniel, leaving other son Peter to announce his existence in the Rovers Return. During a discussion between Ken and Deirdre about Daniel in 2011, Peter's son Simon asked who he was, to which Deirdre replied "a relative".

Around 2010, when Daniel was fifteen, Denise wanted to move away, however Daniel refused because of his friends and GCSEs. Denise instead walked out on him, and he didn't hear from her again. Daniel kept Denise's disappearance a secret from friends and teachers as he was afraid of being taken into care.

In December 2011, Ken left the Street for a few days to visit Daniel.

2016-: Return
In November 2016, Daniel started visiting his father at Weatherfield General after learning he had experienced a stroke. This was a private affair as Ken refused to see his other children Peter and Tracy. The older siblings eventually stormed into the ward to see who Ken's mystery visitor was, leaving Daniel to introduce himself, meeting Peter and Tracy for the first time, as well as his nephew Adam.

Background information

 * Daniel was played by Lewis Harney from his birth in 1995 until his exit in 1997. He left alongside his onscreen mother Denise Osbourne played by Denise Black.
 * Daniel made a brief return in May and June 2007, this time played by Dominic Holmes. His reappearance was written to tie in with a storyline involving Ken Barlow having difficulties with his wife Deirdre.
 * It was announced in July 2016 that Daniel would be re-introduced to the programme later that year alongside Peter Barlow and Adam Barlow, as new producer Kate Oates wanted to strengthen the Barlow family. In September it was revealed that Rob Mallard had been cast as Daniel. Daniel returned onscreen the following November as a full time character.
 * In a continuity error, it was stated upon Daniel's return in 2016 that he has been living alone without Denise since 2010, even though Ken went to see them off-screen in December 2011.

Appendices
(To be completed)